


Stray Cat

by CelesDeLille



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1920s, Because I can, Fights, Kind of dark, Mafia AU, Referenced prostitution, References to Drugs, Romance, Weapons, fictive city, mafia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-28 19:28:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16248299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelesDeLille/pseuds/CelesDeLille
Summary: Akira, a young and unfortunately poor boy, survives in the capital by pickpocketing and scamming the innocent people of the city. However, as he steals something from a not so innocent person, his life turns upside down.





	1. On the streets

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first mafia au so have mercy...? Also, this is completely fictive and merely based of what I have heard about mafia in general, so different things might mix.  
> The story takes place in some big city in the 20s

"Excuse me", asked a man with a foreign accent. "Can you tell me where I find this address?" His brown hair was neatly combed back and his blue eyes watched the boy before him with a warm and friendly gaze. His facial features exposed his foreign origin and his confused smile made it clear that he had never been to this city before.

The boy, Akira, smiled back just as friendly and politely replied: "Down the street, then turn right at the cinema. It shouldn't be far from there."

The stranger thanked him and left off, his eyes scanning every part of the city, curious and interested in the new aspects of this country. However, he had noticed the long fingers that had stolen his wallet. The raven haired boy quietly smiled as he walked in the opposite direction of his victim. 

Truly, tourists where so easy to steal from.

* * *

Five wallets in different colors lay on the desk, the papers, passports and small photos scattered around them.

"60 crowns*. That's all I can give you for these", Iwai finally declared. He wore his usual dark shirt with black pants. He was smoking a cigar, occasionally blowing thick smoke into the air. The entire shop smelled like it and made it hard to breathe. But not for Akira. He was used to the smell and taste of the smoke. After all, he came here everyday to exchange is stolen treasures for money.

"Oh, come on", he complained and lifted one of the wallets. "This is real, good leather! It has to be worth a little bit more!"

The older man just shook his had and exhaled another cloud of smoke. "Sorry, kid."   
  
*(everything was cheaper back then; also: 1crown = 1 €/$)

 

* * *

Akira left the 'Antique Shop'. Since weapons weren't really allowed, at least not for regular citizens, so the people of this city had their own ways of handling the constantly rising crime. With the establishment of different mafia families caused not only nightmares but wars for territory. At first the government and the police had taken care of those conflicts but as time passed, certain... measures were taken by the head of the families to ensure the politicians wouldn't pay much attention to their affairs anymore. Officially, the city was now safe and free of criminals.

He walked down the narrow street to his apartment. Female giggling and laughter surrounded him and the colorful lights of the numerous cabarets and brothels illuminated his way. A rather attractive blonde was standing in the middle of the street, asking potential customers to join the other ladies. She did this every day, so her appearance and face were very familiar. She was the second closest person to Akira, even if they didn't talk much.

"Working hard again, Carmen?", he asked with a mischievous tone. She disliked that tone and he very much loved to tease her like this. Also, he had never heard her real name and he probably never would.

"At least I have a job", she responded annoyed as she turned around to 'greet' him. She wore a tight, red dress with a bit of cleavage, making her look like a exotic bird amongst black ravens who stared at her with lust.

"I don't know if I would want to do _that_ kind of job."

"You!", she raised her voice, but decided to take a deep breath before whispering: "You know I don't do..."

"... _that_. Yes, I know. I just love to tease you! I thought that would be a bit nicer than hitting on you."

"It kind of is...", she relaxed again. Her, walking around in this dress and talking to all these men was already pushing her to her limit. She was a good girl, but there was not good job for good girls in a bad city like this one. So she chose a job to survive like any other person would. She didn't have much of a choice.

Akira got a little closer, close enough to whisper in her ear as he put some coins in her hand: "Hide these somewhere in that dress of yours or you will have to share it with you boss."

She nodded thankfully and smiled, before she walked towards the next man passing by.

Not all the people were bad here.


	2. Black Cat

Akira walked up the stairs and opened the door to his apartment. It was small, modest (to say the least) and cold. His gaze met the familiar black stain on the wooden floor. Blood, he assumed, of some fight because of the rent or the previous owner had done something foolish to upset the Mafia. A tapping sound from outside made the boy focus shift: A black cat sat outside the window, his silhouette elegant and dark against the colorful lights outside. Akira opened the window and petted his only _friend_. His only  _friend_.

"Hey there...", he greeted Morgana. "Are you hungry? I will cook right away."

He checked the fridge: nothing, except for some fish. And he wouldn't be able to afford more food if he wanted to pay the rent. He could find some oil and bread which completed his scarce meal. He shared a little fried fish with Morgana, the rest for himself. Sure, it was not enough to really satisfy the cat (nor himself) but Morgana could always run of and find food some other places. Akira, however, couldn't. Trash bins didn't exactly hold anything edible for him and the last time he stole something from a shop, he was beaten up. Shop keepers do have a sixth sense for thieves; unlike tourists and rich people.

So he lay there on the floor of his apartment, stomach growling and staring at the ceiling. Live was hard here. Especially if you were not born rich or as the son of a mafia boss.  
Someone suddenly knocked on the door (the landlord had never installed doorbells). As the boy answered the door, he was met with the determined look of a young girl (around 13 years old) with long, orange hair who glared at him and almost yelled "My father sends me to collect the rent!"

Apparently she was trying to look and act intimidating but in those way too big pants and shirt she just looked like a little, adorable girl who tried to face a dragon. Given who lived in these apartments, a 'dragon' was quite rare and only meant danger. Who you'd meet more often was a fat 'ogre' or an evil 'witch'. She was more of a little bandit princess with way too big glasses.

Like I said, adorable.

"One moment, please", Akira said with a smile before he walked back inside and collected all the money he could find. The girl stood at the doorstep, unsure if it was okay to follow him or not. She seemed to be relieved as Akira returned with the money and hastily took it out out of his hands. Then she began to count. She was young, so this might take a while, or so Akira thought as he closed the door.

"Not enough!", the girl suddenly yelled. "Dad- I mean my father said you have to pay 300 crowns. This is only... 260 crowns."

Akira sighed, crouched down so he was at the eye level of the girl and asked with a gentle and patient tone: "What's you name?"

"My father told me, I shouldn't tell strangers my name", she stubbornly answered and took a few steps back.

"I am living in the same house as you do, so I am not much of a stranger, right?"

She thought for some seconds, then she nodded. "Futaba."

"Okay, Futaba, I can not really afford the rest of the rent. Not this month. I have to eat and I also have a cat to take care of. Tell you father I will give him the 40 crowns next month."

At the word  _cat_ , Futaba's eyes came alive and for a moment she didn't seem to mistrust the boy before her. Cats always worked! "But... dad-"

"I can't give you any more. You could search my apartment. There is no money left", he explained hoping that she would simply go away.

She thought again for a moment, before she said: "I will tell, dad... Can I see the cat sometime?"

Akira chuckled and patted her head: "Sure! I will bring him over as soon as he's home again."

With that she seemed to be satisfied. She bowed down shortly before running off with a big smile. Akira was sure the landlord would let it slip, this time at least, since he loved his daughter very much. But the cat couldn't always be excuse. If Akira couldn't afford the rent in the future, he would be kicked out for sure. A painful growl of his stomach reminded him that he would probably starve before that happened.

* * *

The next day, the boy stood at the side of the Main Street, watching people. He would have to steal either from more people or some rich entrepreneurs... Unfortunately, the latter type of citizens would never leave their own quarters. They preferred to stay save in their territory, where the world was safe and pretty. They would only visit the Main Street for big business meetings or for spending a night at a brothel. Either way, the chance of running into one where rather small.

And so Akira played nice and stole as many wallets as he could. All the pressure made him work sloppily and so, several people caught him in the act. They yelled and tried to punch him, but the boy was faster, escaping from their grasps and running of into the next side street. It was late afternoon as he decided to stop pickpocketing for today and return home. He only got four wallets this time because the shop keepers had gotten more attentive after the second person loudly complaining about their missing wallet. He wouldn't be able to safely steal I  the next few weeks. His stomach growled again. But did he have a choice? Maybe they would just forget about him and he could 'work' again in some days...?

Suddenly, a long, beige coat caught his attention. A young man, around his age, was walking down the street. His hands tucked in his pockets, the coat open, revealing a black vest and formal trousers. His brown hair was tied back into a ponytail. Definitely a spoiled, rich brat who just showed his status with so much confidence, he was begging to be robbed!

That was Akira's chance! The chance for a good meal and payed rent!

He tried to act calm, ordinary, like any random person passing by, but his heart was beating fast and his mind was focused on the task ahead. He pretended to bump into the rich kid, accidentally of course, politely asking him if he was okay and muttering a thousand excuses before walking on. The other boy seemed to suspect something but simply brushed off the non existent dirt from his coat. The moment he checked his pockets however, Akira could hear loud yelling but he was already in a side street. He began to run and adrenaline shot through his veins. At the same time he felt incredibly happy and proud! Iwai would pay him well today!


	3. Caught

Iwai took out the papers of the last wallet. It was black leather with red embroidery and felt nice in his hand. This was probably worth a lot. Who did it belong to? Who did this brat steal from this time? One look on the passport made the Ex-Yakuza shudder. He put everything back the wallet quickly before handing it to the boy.

"I won't buy this one!", he declared in panic. "And I suggest you get rid of it soon! As for the rest... 50 crowns!"

"50?!", Akira  exclaimed. 

"70 if you get out of here right now!", Iwai added and gave him the money as he pushed the raven haired boy out of his shop.

This was the best deal in his live! It was more than last time for fewer wallets! But... this made him worry. The black wallet had had much money in it and when he had red the name of the owner nothing had come up in his mind. Apparently, Iwai knew the young man and that he was dangerous. Too bad! He threw it away on the street like regular garbage. Nobody would be able to find him this way.

... or so he thought.

* * *

Several weeks later, when he returned from a successful 'hunt', Akira was shocked as he saw Iwai's store: the windows were shattered, the door kicked in and the interior seemed to be badly damaged as well. 

One part of him wanted to enter the shop, look for Iwai, see if the man was alright but the other part urged him to run. Panic rose in his stomach. Whoever did this might still be nearby and Iwai could be quite fearsome, so he was probably okay. He hesitated a few seconds before he started to run. Faster than ever but he did not come far. Several men tackled him down on the muddy street, holding him down and pressing his face down onto the cold stone. Two feet entered the boy's view: polished, black leather shoes. They looked expensive to say the least. Then, a ragged wallet was dropped and landed mere inches away from his face. The black leather was now dull and was mostly covered in mud and the red embroidery was barely visible anymore.

"You will have to repay me for that. I did like it very much", a voice complained with a fake sad undertone.

Then everything went black.

* * *

As Akira opened his eyes everything was blurry. His head felt heavy and every move was painful. He wanted to feel his head, see if there was any wound but he couldn't move his hands. After a few tries he realized they were cuffed behind his back. What had happened? He was going to Iwai's shop and there... He lifted his head resulting in a moment of white, hot pain. He groaned, shut his eyes and leaned back to breathe. 

"Is the little thief awake?", a familiar voice mocked him. Oh, had he never robbed that man!

Panic and adrenaline made him painfully aware of the situation: He was handcuffed to a chair in the middle of a rather luxurious room with a red carpet. Around him stood several tall, bulky men in suits. The coffee tables were pushed aside to make plenty of room for whatever was going to happen. With that many people, it was impossible to escape. Especially for a weak boy like him. He wouldn't even be able to beat one of them!  
Even though there were so many people in the room, the hierarchy was pretty obvious. Their boss, the only important person in the room, was sitting in a comfortable armchair right in front of Akira. He rested his chin on one hand with a devilish smirk on his face and a spark of mischief in his eyes.

"You have robbed me of my wallet and then dumped it somewhere so now it is ruined completely", he complained again with a badly played sad undertone. "So... what am I going to do with you?"

"Let me go?", Akira suggested cockily. He gasped as he felt a fist hit his cheek.

"I am sure I will not do so", the young man said. He had stopped playing sad and sounded more annoyed and angry by now. "Especially not if you keep up that attitude, scum. Trash like you disgusts me!"

"Then why do you keep me here?", Akira replied more confident than he really felt. It seemed, nobody had ever talked back to this rich kid because he grew even angrier by every small remark Akira made. He got up from his 'throne', took the few steps forward to grab Akira painfully by his hair.

"Do you have ANY idea who you are talking to?!", he yelled furious with anger. And yanked the raven's hair even harder.

"No, but maybe I wouldn't have robbed you if I did." Akira readied himself for the pain, squeezing his eyes shut and clenching his teeth. But it never came... instead, the young man let go of his hair slowly before grabbing his chin, forcing the thief to look at him.

"So confident, so... full of courage", he hummed, the tone of his voice making Akira shiver. Those brown (or were they red?), hateful eyes glaring down at him... it felt like a monster from his nightmare was standing before him. "It will be a pleasure to break you!"


End file.
